'I Was Sobbing': Harvard Students Are Upset That It's Been Revealed Professors Are Just Giving Everyone A's and They Don't Want Anything To Change
What a week it's been at Harvard. The university released a report on Monday detailing the dilution of grading throughout one of the world's supposedly preeminent institutions, saying its grading practices are "damaging the academic culture of the College." About 60 percent of all grades given out at Harvard are A's, up from 40 percent just 10 years ago and less than 25 percent two decades ago.
It seems the powers that be have recognized this inflation has fundamentally changed what is supposed to be one of the most academically rigorous universities on the planet and want to do something to course-correct. The students, however, seem to be finding this acknowledgement of grading leniency an affront to their very existence and are not taking kindly to the school's report.
Harvard Crimson — Sophie Chumburidze ’29 said the report felt dismissive of students’ hard work and academic struggles.
“The whole entire day, I was crying,” she said. “I skipped classes on Monday, and I was just sobbing in bed because I felt like I try so hard in my classes, and my grades aren’t even the best.”
“It just felt soul-crushing,” she added.
The report called on Harvard affiliates to work with officials to “re-center academics” and devote time towards tougher and more strictly graded courses. But many students said the push felt misguided, warning that tougher grading, without attendant changes in academic quality, would shift their focus from learning to chasing grades.
Kayta A. Aronson ’29 said stricter standards could take a serious toll on students’ mental health.
“It makes me rethink my decision to come to the school,” she said. “I killed myself all throughout high school to try and get into this school. I was looking forward to being fulfilled by my studies now, rather than being killed by them.”
Zahra Rohaninejad ’29 added that grading already felt harsh and raising standards further would only erode students’ ability to enjoy their classes.
“I can’t reach my maximum level of enjoyment just learning the material because I’m so anxious about the midterm, so anxious about the papers, and because I know it’s so harshly graded,” she said. “If that standard is raised even more, it’s unrealistic to assume that people will enjoy their classes.”
The term "emotional breakdown" gets tossed around a little too much these days, but a Harvard student admitted to literally having one when she found out the school was going to attempt to make getting an A slightly more difficult than a 60 percent success rate. I checked multiple times to make sure those quotes came from the Harvard Crimson rather than the Babylon Bee.
Look, I understand why these kids are upset, though. If I got to Harvard and found out they handed out A's like Halloween candy and then some assholes released a report trying to put a stop to it, I'd be pissed too. But them's the breaks.
I'd imagine that Boston winter is going to be a little worse this January when you have to add studying back into the mix.